The term for three board of directors of the Gambia Investment and Export Promotion Agency (GiEPA) has ended. The presidential appointees including the outgoing GiEPA Board Chair - Mr Yankuba Dibba, Vice Chairman Mr Momodou A. Ceesay and Mr Muhammed Sillah - a member, were part of the non-ex-officio board members and served two renewable terms of three years each.
Capping what appears to be an exciting journey of achievement for the leadership, management and staff, the Chief Executive Officer of GiEPA - Mr Ousainou Senghore thanked all the ten board members for their unanimity on truth, principle, vision, and demonstrated commitment to improving the working environment of the Agency and ensuring that the strategic plan, policies and regulations were instituted over the period to guide the daily operations of the Agency under his careful watch. He further encouraged staff to live up to the challenge and pledged his continued support to achieving set targets anchored on motivation to retain high professional standards and morale.
For his part, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Trade, Regional Integration and Employment - Mr Lamin Dampha, who is also a GiEPA board member, thanked the leadership of the outgoing board. He acknowledged the tireless effort of the CEO and team in actualising board policies to formidable programmes and activities that achieve set targets. He strongly encouraged the momentum to continue and assured his Ministry's support.
In his farewell address to the entire GiEPA staff and board of directors, the outgoing Chairman Mr Yankuba Dibba expressed his ardent satisfaction to have led the governance structure of the institution. Citing over 30 years of positive experience in public governance and administration, he recalled the past state of the institution to its current viability and visibility status adding "GiEPA is now a household name and this stint of remarkable progress we realize is just starting". He pledged his availability to support the Agency under his current appointment as Ambassador at Large by the President and thanked the CEO and his team for the tremendous work done within three years of his tenure. He further called on the management of the Agency to continue investing in young talent and professional skillset adding GiEPA's success is the country's success, but its failure will have more adverse effects than any state institution in the country and therefore requires support.
Other speakers including the outgoing vice Chairman - Mr Momodou A. Ceesay and Mr Muhammed Silla both expressed appreciation to the board, management and staff adding their private sector orientation has been infused into the Agency's policies and what remains is resources that will fully enable GiEPA implement its mandate. They, likewise, encourage the relevant authorities to support the Agency as an engine for growth and quick transformative economic development.
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The outgoing board members were treated to a cocktail and gifts exclusively Made in The Gambia. Addressing the recipients of the gifts, the Director for Corporate Affairs - Kodou Gaye-Senghore who also serves as the Board Secretary expressed his team's reciprocity as a token of appreciation from staff to the outgoing board members for their invaluable service to GiEPA and by extension country.
The three outgoing board members were appointed by His Excellency President Adama Barrow in pursuant of Section 2, Subsection 7(1)(h) of the GiEPA Act 2015. The appointees have remarkable knowledge, a proven track record, and experience in manufacturing, export trade, financial matters, investment banking, enterprise development and technology services etc. They were complemented in the GiEPA board of directors by the representatives of the Secretary General, Permanent Secretaries of Finance, and Science and Technology, President of The Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Permanent Secretary of Trade and the CEO of GiEPA. The farewell ceremony held at GiEPA headquarters along Kairaba Avenue was preceded by the 44th board of directors meeting.
